UNION SQUARE — A man stalked a woman he met in a nightclub for more than a mile across the city, following her onto a bus and then through the East Village, before finally attacking her on East 14th Street, the NYPD said.
Mitch Martin, 41, met the 28-year-old victim in Cielo nightclub, at 18 Little West 12th St., early in the morning of Jan. 24, police said. She told him she wasn't interested, but when she left the club at about 5 a.m., he followed, police said.
Martin tailed the victim onto an MTA bus, and when she got off at East 14th Street and Third Avenue in an attempt to lose him, he kept following her, police said.
As the victim approached Second Avenue on 14th Street, Martin attacked, grabbing her and groping her chest and crotch, police said.
The victim began screaming and a passerby intervened, causing Martin to flee.
Police arrested him shortly afterward in Union Square. He was charged with sexual abuse and forcible touching, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's office.
A temporary order of protection was issued, and Martin was being held on $1,000 bond as of Wednesday. He is due back in court on Jan. 30.
“My client vigorously denies the charges against him as well as the account in the police report," said Martin's attorney, Beverly Vu. "He will be fighting this case along with all its allegations.”
Cielo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
